04.09.17 Palm/Passion Sunday “The Son of God!” Today we take part in the Gospel story more than on other Sundays. While, there never is an audience in a worship service, that distinction is made clear on Palm Sunday. It may seem that there is no distinction between a congregation and an audience, but there is a vast difference. An audience gathers to watch a performance - a congregation is a group gathered for worship. Now some of us have robes as readers, servers and even as preachers, but all of us are active participants. All of us are part of the liturgy of the worship service. In fact, that’s what liturgy means: the working of the people. All of us become one whole - one Ohanna - in worshipping our Lord God. On Palm Sunday, churches raise the congregation’s participation level even higher. We begin the service with the reading of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. We proclaim “Hosanna in the highest.” Then we take up palm branches and sing our way into church. The congregation plays the role of the crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. Now that was the easy and joyful part. But Palm Sunday is also known as Passion Sunday - for on this day we recount the story of Jesus’ suffering, humiliation and death. And the same crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem also took part in the betrayal - which followed that Friday.Each week the congregation takes part in the worship service — most of it happening in your hearts — and also in the words of the liturgy. Easy words usually — words like: “Our Father who art in heaven...” and “Thanks be to God.” Today, the liturgy puts some very different words in your mouth: “Let Him be crucified.” “Let Him be crucified.” And the most daunting of all — “His blood be on us and on our children......... Harsh words. Painful words. Words that seem to tempt God to take us seriously in a way we don’t want God to act. But on that Friday — which we now call Good Friday — Jesus’ betrayal was complete. He had been deserted by His disciples and rejected by the Jewish leadership, as well as the crowd that had welcomed Him so enthusiastically with palm branches and cloaks spread on the road. Mocked — beaten — and finally crucified by the Roman officials — the man we call the King of Peace was put to death as a threat to the peace of Jerusalem. In starkest contrast to His welcome into the city gates - - - Jesus was taken outside of the city to be killed like a common criminal... Like all criminals, they did not want His death to desecrate the city - old Zion — the City of God. Jesus’ Cross stood by the road leading into town as a warning to any other trouble-makers and rebel- rousers not to follow in His footsteps.Darkness covered the whole land from noon to three. Then Jesus cried with a loud voice: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” In His humanity, Jesus’ betrayal was complete............. In these words from the Cross, we see how far the love of God extends. For God the Son loved us so much — that He would not give up that love even when the cost was death on a cross. At Easter, the love of God is confirmed further, but on this day, we wait in an in between time in our readings — after His death and before the Good News that would follow. Yet, our worship continues during this time. It is traditional that there is no public confession of sins on Palm Sunday — because we already confront our sins so fully in the service itself. Instead of a confession — we read and participate in the words of the Passion and Holy Week. I encourage you to read the lessons marked for each day during Holy Week — take that journey with our Lord to Jerusalem - live with Him during His last days on earth. The lessons for Holy Week are posted in your bulletin. And on that day of Good News, we continue not merely with words, but there are more actions as well. For even after we remember Jesus’ Passion — especially after we remember Jesus’ Passion and journey to Jerusalem — we are invited to the Lord’s table for bread and wine — the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.There are the words, “Take, eat” and “Drink this, all of you.” These words of invitation denote action on our part to physical partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ as we remember His suffering ‘and death. The story loops back from the Passion to the Table of The Last Supper with an invitation to join Jesus once again. We are given a chance once more to join our voices to that of the Centurion who proclaimed, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Like that crowd, during Holy Week some two thousand years ago, we can go from singing God's praises to denying His presence and His power, and we can do it in much less time. The words and actions of this Sunday show something of our words and actions throughout our lives. In subtle ways, we betray the faith that is in us. We deny Jesus by not speaking or acting when we are given an opportunity to say or do the right thing. Sometimes we deny Him by saying and doing things that deny the very Christ within us. For while judgment and hate would have put Jesus to death, neither judgment nor hate got the last word in this liturgy as in our lives. Jesus stretched out His arms of love on the hard wood of the Cross that everyone might come within the reach of His saving embrace - and those of us who have enjoyed Christ’s presence in Word and Sacrament leave our worship this day strengthened to reach forth our own hands in love. May God empower us to bring others into the knowledge and love of Jesus as the Son of God!Let us pray: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first He suffered pain, and entered not into glory before He was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, tnay find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen